Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - T-80 Battle Tank

The_Dunedan · 02-28-2007, 08:19 AM

There's no doubt that the Russians have been playing catch-up with regards to tanks for years. The T-72 was and remains a deathtrap in its' original configuration, and the early T-80s had teething problems with the gunsighting equipment.

However, the T-80 is not the T-72. It may lack the M1's ultradense ceramic armor, but its' own armor suite is nothing to sneeze at. Again, we don't know (and probably won't know for sure) how well the T-80's armor performs against the M1's FSDSAP round, especially since Russia and the US remain two of only half a dozen or so nations which use Depleted Uranium in their FSDSAP penetrators. However, since the M1's 120mm main gun -is- capable of defeating the Chobham armor, it's a safe bet that the T-80's 125mm gun is similarly capable.

The T-80 -probably- can't match the M1 for speed. The Abrahms is still, if I'm not mistaken, the fastest tank in the world. The T-80, like the M1, utilizes a gas-turbine engine, although the Ukrainian versions switched to a diesel. The T-80 is also significantly smaller (thus harder to hit) than the M1, which further increases the advantage offered by the (probable) range advantage of its' 125mm gun.

We also don't know how good the T-80's fire-control systems are in combat conditions. The Russians have always built superbly accurate guns, but their optics have never been quite up to snuff as far as ground-based hardware goes.

The Russians seem to be moving away from the T-80, though, thanks to a disappointing performance in Chechnya. Urban warfare is, was, and always will be a tanker's nightmare, and the T-80 was something of a letdown. It proved especially vulnerable to dead-vertical RPG rounds fired into the top of the turret. However, even the newest dual-warhead RPG rounds cannot, to my knowledge, penetrate the glacis plate or sides. The T-90 is apparently being adopted as a replacement.

But of course, we'll probably never get to see such a battle; nobody else has the Abhrams, and the only other tank which features roughly identical armament is fielded by the British, who also aren't likely to go loaning 'em out. So, barring Iran suddenly acquiring a boatload of T-80s or -90s within the next couple of years, we're probably never gonna be able to find out for sure.

02-28-2007, 08:19 AM	#8 (permalink)
The_Dunedan Junkie	There's no doubt that the Russians have been playing catch-up with regards to tanks for years. The T-72 was and remains a deathtrap in its' original configuration, and the early T-80s had teething problems with the gunsighting equipment. However, the T-80 is not the T-72. It may lack the M1's ultradense ceramic armor, but its' own armor suite is nothing to sneeze at. Again, we don't know (and probably won't know for sure) how well the T-80's armor performs against the M1's FSDSAP round, especially since Russia and the US remain two of only half a dozen or so nations which use Depleted Uranium in their FSDSAP penetrators. However, since the M1's 120mm main gun -is- capable of defeating the Chobham armor, it's a safe bet that the T-80's 125mm gun is similarly capable. The T-80 -probably- can't match the M1 for speed. The Abrahms is still, if I'm not mistaken, the fastest tank in the world. The T-80, like the M1, utilizes a gas-turbine engine, although the Ukrainian versions switched to a diesel. The T-80 is also significantly smaller (thus harder to hit) than the M1, which further increases the advantage offered by the (probable) range advantage of its' 125mm gun. We also don't know how good the T-80's fire-control systems are in combat conditions. The Russians have always built superbly accurate guns, but their optics have never been quite up to snuff as far as ground-based hardware goes. The Russians seem to be moving away from the T-80, though, thanks to a disappointing performance in Chechnya. Urban warfare is, was, and always will be a tanker's nightmare, and the T-80 was something of a letdown. It proved especially vulnerable to dead-vertical RPG rounds fired into the top of the turret. However, even the newest dual-warhead RPG rounds cannot, to my knowledge, penetrate the glacis plate or sides. The T-90 is apparently being adopted as a replacement. But of course, we'll probably never get to see such a battle; nobody else has the Abhrams, and the only other tank which features roughly identical armament is fielded by the British, who also aren't likely to go loaning 'em out. So, barring Iran suddenly acquiring a boatload of T-80s or -90s within the next couple of years, we're probably never gonna be able to find out for sure.